2013 Buffalo Run 50k

Saturday was FINALLY the Antelope Island Buffalo Run!
I don't know that I'd ever watched the weather as much as I did on Friday. I was slightly encouraged by looking at the Satellite pictures and seeing that the snow was mostly sticking to the shores of the lake - and hoped that would stay that way.

It did!

I got up early Saturday and got ready to go, shorts, shirts, body glide and moleskin on the toes, etc etc. then waited... After a ridiculously long 10 minutes waiting (funny how that really did seem like a long time!) I drove out to the island with my dad and brother-in-law who were coming out to support and cheer and help out as much as they could, which for me was seeing me off at the start and finish, but they were able to follow my bro around his 50 mile race!

The initial idea was to run with a friend, Brent, for most of the race, but literally 1 minute before the start, he ran back to his car to get some compression sleeves, so I started the race without him.

The Start! (I'm 3211 grey jacket)

And they're off!

Then at the first little turn past the gate I waited for him and we ran together along the big curve there until it started going uphill and I continued to pull away from him. I felt really good and relaxed and didn't feel like I was pushing it too fast and made good time up that looooong hill to mile 2. Just enjoyed the next 3 miles to the Elephant Aid Station, passing people on the downhills and being passed by them on any inclines, although the spots in my feet that have been bugging me were starting to flare up and I was a bit worried with it being so early. Walked a bit up lone tree hill for the first time, but kept moving well.
Grabbed some Mt. Dew at the Elephant Aid station but could only drink a swallow or two, so I put it down by one of the water barrels holding up the tent, knowing I'd see it again soon! Headed down into Split Rock Bay where there was a small herd of buffalo and some noisy coyotes, then walked again but ran a decent measured pace up the switchbacks through miles 8 and 9, before getting into probably my favorite section of the race, all the rocks and technical boulders - awesome trail. It helps that there isn't 2 feet of snow on top of it like there was three weeks ago!

Felt decent for the next 6 miles until the turnaround, except I was starting to chafe something fierce! At the turnaround drop I took a swig from my soda I had there, but really the only thing I needed was that Body Glide! Slathered that on my inner thighs and took off  having completed the first loop in about 2:40:00 - which was a bit faster than I thought I would.
Headed back up and finally saw Brent again as he was just coming down the hill towards the turnaround - Go Brent!
Started walking on that long uphill to eat some shockblocks and drink some water and while I wasn't in a bad mental space - I wasn't in a good one either. Not much motivation. I was going to get it done, but I wasn't in a hurry. This is a RACE! Come on!

Luckily about that time an awesome lady was coming up on me and we started talking and pacing each other, and we stuck together for the next 10-12 miles. HUGE thanks to Sue Lee from SLC Utah for getting me into a better place mentally and helping me continue pretty regularly for most of the 2nd half. On the 3rd mile of the 2nd loop I almost tripped and hit the rock pretty hard, but didn't realize until the switchbacks that I had done something to my pinky toe. Turns out I had made a pretty gnarly blood blister on my pinky toe! Still my feet were doing surprisingly well (I did take some ibuprofen because I didn't want to deal with pain! It must have worked!) Having somebody to talk to and pace with really was awesome for that second loop. Awesome lady! Thanks Sue!

On the way back I stopped for a minute to take a picture of a cool Antelope Skull I saw.

 With about 4 miles left I took off my jacket, and took off trying to push it a bit more for the remaining distance.

4 Miles to go! Feeling good! Image from Altra Running

I probably could have pushed it a little bit more - but I'm still happy with my performance.
Came down around the last curve (MAN that's a long looping section!!) still feeling pretty good and crossed the line at 5 hours and 47 minutes.

Finished at the Finish line!

Beautiful day - beautiful race! Fantastic group of people running the race in every sense of that word. Thanks to all the volunteers, and race organizers - But of course even more thanks go out to all the people who got me to actually do this and supported me along the way. Like the Wasatch Mountain Wranglers at Refuse2Quit, especially my brother Matt, my amazing wife, my dad, my brother-in-law Ben, and everybody else! We had some awesome adventures and memories getting ready for this!

Also my cute little 5 year old came out to the island to watch me finish. I ran this race for her and she was excited to be there - Such a doll!

Ultramarathoner and the Birthday girl!

If I had a goal for this race, it was to be able to move the day after the race - other than my pinky toe blood blister and some achillies tenderness - I was feeling great!

My one regret is that I didn't stop somewhere in the middle (or multiple times) to get pictures of weird yoga poses. That means I was probably taking everything a bit more seriously than I think I should. Uh oh!

The Buffalo Run Hoodie Crew (Matt, Me, Dad, Ben - Antelope Island in the back)

Now I've just gotta figure out what's next!

I need a focus!

For more great reads - here are some race reports from other runners crazier'n me!
50K:
ME on FRB (almost exactly the same as here... I'm lazy!)

50 Milers:
Matt on R2Q
Sam on OTM
RyanL

100 Milers:
Craig on R2Q and on FRB
Scott on FRB
MattVH on FRB